White Room

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The White Room provides current information relating to new technologies for energy efficiency. Stay connected with the latest news, events, and scientific breakthroughs in this fast moving sector. Use our filters on the left or click here to send a suggestion for content to add.

It may not be the end of thin-film solar, some analysts believe that (when the market picks up) thin-film solar may be just as popular as conventional solar panels. Large thin-film factories can have lower manufacturing costs.

Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area opened a new net-zero visitor center -- the first of its kind. The building is equipped with LED lighting and solar panels. The article also includes other LED news.

The start-up SoloPower recently opened a manufacturing facility, which raised concerns from media and solar observers. SoloPower is entering into the niche market of thin-film panels using CIGS-based panels. The same niche and technology of Solyndra, a solar company that went bankrupt last year.

This past January, SunPower unveiled the first commercial deployment of its C7 low-concentration photovoltaic tracker. The concentrator would effectively allow the company to increase the power output of its utility-scale solar plants.

California surpassed one gigawatt of solar power production last month. One gigawatt can meet the instantaneous demand of at least 750,000 California homes. This milestone shows how far California has come with solar power and how far it has to go.

The Institute for Energy Efficiency and the CEEM hosted a Technology Roundtable on concentrator photovoltaics. 35 key stakeholders participated in a facilitated discussion to identify what it will take for CPV to supply 100 GW of solar electricity in the US by 2030.

The Pentagon has a strong interest in using renewable energy and alternative fuels to improve U.S. energy security. U.S. Defense Department will encourage solar and wind companies to build facilities around military bases, making each base less dependent on the nation's electricity grid.

There are many alternatives to home PV systems, including solar water heaters and solar powered steam engines. Zenman Energy, a nonprofit that focuses on solar research, is developing an inexpensive solar steam engine generator.

As part of his We Can't Wait Initiative, President Obama announced seven solar and wind projects that will be expedited. Together these projects will produce 5,000MW of clean energy. Two of these projects are in California.